Ron Artest Says (Jokes?) 'Goodbye' To Houston. ...

   THANKS ALOT HOUSTON. J I HAD ALOT OF FUN J -- Ron Artest, on Twitter at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

   Is Ron-Ron tampering with himself? Greasing an exit from a Houston team suddenly with few real rockets? Preparing to take a paycut down to MLE-level to be in the right place? Attempting to score a major payday?

   Playing a childish Amare-style joke?

   And where might the Mavs stand on this?

   Ten important points regarding the maybe-availability of Ron Artest:

    UPDATE 1: Some of Artest's later Tweets are obvious goofs leading to the announcement of a radio show...

    UPDATE 2: In Houston, they're saying even the "goodbye'' is a goof and that Artest "did not write that message.''  (You watch: They'll blame it on a stripper improperly fondling his Blackberry.)

   1 Ron-Ron made $7.4 mil last year and minded his manners in Houston with the hopes of cashing in on good behavior. We were told a few weeks ago that he wanted $10 million a year now that he’s a UFA.  The lesson we constantly preach is that players almost always go for the money (as we have always insisted will be the case with Jason Kidd). Artest is just … um. … different enough to be the exception.

    If, say LeBron James tries to recruit you to Cleveland for the MLE. …

   2 Which is exactly what is happening tonight in Cleveland.

   3 Dallas wanted him last summer. Badly. That’s all you need to know about what Mark Cuban thinks of the character issues here. And what has changed? I do not have any fresh whispers from Dallas HQ on this subject. So I'm just educated-guessing. But the Mavs remain in the exact position they were in a year ago. So. …

    4 Are the Mavs players here? That’s entirely up to the whims of the player. If Artest’s tweet expresses his true feelings, it puts any contender with a sales pitch in the picture. Rick Carlisle once dealt with Artest in Indy and would be willing to do so again. We would like to see Carlisle finish his business (successfully) with Gortat in Orlando and then get himself a connecting flight back to DFW through Houston or Mars or wherever it is Artest is hanging out.

   (Brian Windhorst reports that Ron is in LA. … as is LeBron. … thus, a face-to-face pitch.)

   5 By the way, and speaking of Gortat: If Artest is intent on leaving Houston, and T-Mac is done, and Yao is one-legged. … would Gortat even want to sign there?

    6 Is there a Mavs piece that merits Sign-and-Trade talk? We’re working on that.

    7 Artest is volatile; the infamous brawl in Detroit five years ago is only the most dangerous and famous of scores of bizarre headlines created by him. From domestic violence charges to issues with his animals to semi-retirement for a music career to a dozen NBA suspensions, he can be a handful.

    8 But for a team like the Mavs with that nagging “soft’’ rep, he can be a handful to the opponent, too. Artest averaged 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Rockets in 2008-09 and is a legit defensive stopper on a level Dallas have never employed.

    9 Artest’s camp says he wants to move to a team that can win a title. Therefore, you can expect the Lakers to be in the mix by Thursday. Does that put Dallas in the mix as well?

    10 That is entirely up to Ron Artest, his mood, his money and his J’s.